Utility knife



Jan. 16, 1940. A. J. LURIE 2,187,590

UTILITY KNIFE Filed Aug. 1G, 1958 VIIllIIIIIl/I 'Illlllll HHIllHlllI-Illll S;

Patented Jan. 16, 1940 AUNITED STATES.

PATENT OFI-ice UTILITY KNIFE mmm Lune, chiuso, nl.

Application August 16, 1938, Serial No. 225,106

ZCiaims.

This invention relates in general to knives and especially to knives which are suitable for opening cartons.

In a related patent, Number 2,128,151, issuing on an application with which the present application is copending, I have disclosed a very satisfactory carton opener in which a blade projects an adjustable distance beyond a guide surface with a second guide surface perpendicular to the l0 first guide surface so that the blade is adapted to slit a carton such as a heavy corrugated carton all around its top to remove the top in the easiest possible manner. This carton opener has proved satisfactory for the purpose for which i6 it was intended. Because of the fixed and elongated nature of the guides. however, it is hardly suitable for general purposes. In fact, there are somecartons which because of certain construction, adapting them for use in display, cannot be used with the form of knife illustrated in my patent mentioned.

An object of the present invention is to provide a knife of general utility which may be adapted Y easily to serve as a carton opener and function in 26 that respect in a manner comparable to the carton opener of my patent above noted.

A further object is to provide a knife of this character which is provided primarily in stamped out inexpensive parts, and is sturdy, compact,

20 and adjustable so that it may be conveniently carried in the pocket and yet made ready for use in a moment for various types of cutting operations.

According to the illustrated form of the inven- I5 tion, this object is attained by providing an elongated knife handle having the blade projected adjustably from the end thereof, and having a. small guide surface on the end perpendicular to the blade with an adjustable side guide that can 40 be swung to project perpendicularly beyond the small guide surface or can be swung to a position entirely out of the way.

Additional objects and advantages in the invention will be apparent from the following de- 45 scription and from the drawing in which:

Figure l is an exposed view of the form of the knife portion for illustration;

Figs. 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d and le, are detail illustrations of removable elements of the knife;

so Figure 2 is a side view ofthe assembled knife;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a front view of the knife shown in Figure 2;

u Figure 5 is a fragmentary view showing the (Cl. :I0-2) far side of the knife of Figure 2 and showing the blade withdrawn and the side guide turned to its inactive position.

Although this invention may take various forms, only one has been chosen for illustration. Il In this form the knife includes the handle indicated generally by the numeral II, a blade I2,

a bolt I3 for clamping the blade with the handle, a washer I4 and a thumb nut I5 for cooperation with the bolt I3, and a side guide I6 all oi 10 which are assembled in the drawing in a manner which is readily apparent and is described below.

The handle II includes two complementary halves I 'I and I8 which are pivotally secured u together by a rivet or the like 20. Each half is provided with a slot I9, and with a guide flange 2I diagonally disposed at the end of the handle. The handle half Il is provided with an elongated shoulder 22 against which the back edge 23 of 20 the blade is adapted to rest. The blade is provided With a square hole 24 which is of substantially the same width as the width of the slots I9 and which is positioned to coincide with these slots with the blade resting approximately 25 against the shoulder 22. The bolt I3 is provided with a square shank 25 which is of a size to fit fairly snugly within the slot I9 and the hole 24 so that it will not turn therein with the thumb nut I5 tightened so that it will aid the shoulder 3d 22 in preventing blade I2 from turning. At the same time, when nut I5 is loose, slot I9 will permit the blade I2 to be moved longitudinally of the knife handle Ii so as to project the blade any desired distance beyond the guide flanges 2i 35 or to conceal it entirely within the handle II when it is desired to carry the knife with the utmost safety.

As thus described, the knife is very useful for general purposes and also for opening cartons or the like since adjustment of the blade I2 will cause the knife to cut to any desired depth in cutting through the cartons. However, when it is desired to cut the top off of a carton in a uniform manner, that can be done much more convenient- 1y if a side guide is provided so that the knife will not only cut to a desired depth, but will also be uniformly spaced from the sides or top of the carton a distance approximately corresponding to the thickness of the carton wall so that the 5 blade will run just inside of Athe wall. On the other hand, if such a side guide were rigidly positioned for this purpose, it would be in the way when the knife is being used for other purposes., According to the preferred fonn of the n present invention, the side guide is nevertheless provided for in such a manner that it maybe moved to an out of the way position with great ease.

The side guide I6 in its active position is seen best in Figure 4. Thus it has a shank portion 3| and a guide portion 32 which is offset with respect to the shank portion 3| so that when the shank portion 3| rests against the fiat portion of the handle Il, the guide portion 32 will extend out around the guide flange 2| and project perpendicularly therefrom (Fig. 4). The shoulder portion of the side guide intermediate the guide portion`32 and the shank portion 3| conforms generally to the diagonal guide flange 2|, and such shoulder is positioned below such flange when the side guide is in active position. The shank portion 3| is provided with a slot 33 which is preferably of the same dimensions as the slots I9, and with the shank 26 of the bolt I3 of the same width as the slots in these various elements it will normally prevent turning of the side guide I6 which fits over the shank when the ring nut |5 is in tightened position. When the side guide |6 would be in the way, however,`then nut l5 may be loosened so that the shank portion 3| of the side guide can be moved slightly endwise of the bolt |3 so as to clear the square shank 26 thereof. The side guide I6 will then be free to turn and it may be rotated to the position shown in Figure 5 in which the guide portion 32 will fit fairly snugly over` a bulged portion 34 of the handle thus being completely out of the way. At the same time the blade |2 may be withdrawn within the handle to be completely hidden therewithin, or if the knife is to be used without the side guide, the blade may be left projecting as seen in full lines in Figure 2, or it may even project further as indicated by the dotted lines I2 in Figure 2.

The illustrated formi of the knife is not only very convenient because of the wide variety of purposes for which it may be used, but it is also very economical to manufacture. The more complicated parts, namely, the handle halves l1 and |8, and the side guide I6 may be formed by stamping them from sheet metal. It may be noted in this connection that the handle half I8 is preferably formed with a depressed portion 36 so that the shoulder 22 may be deeper than the thickness of the blade l2 without preventing the blade I2 from being tightly clamped between the handle halves and i8.

The assembling operation of the knife is eX- tremely simple with the halves spread apart as seen in Figure l. The blade |2 is put in place, and afterwards the handle halves are pivoted inte alignment and the bolt |3 passes through the handle halves and through the blade l2 therebetween. The side guide I6 and the washer I4 are then successively applied over the projecting end of the bolt |3 and when the blade I2 and side guide I6 are in proper positions the nut I5 is tightened'to clamp the various parts in Athese desired-positions. When the side guide |6 is in active position as shown in Figure 2, the knife is very convenient for almost all general purposes.

Although I have illustrated and described my invention in its preferred embodiment, it is understood that the invention is not limited thereby, but is limited only by the scope o! the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A knife for opening cartons and for miscellaneous purposes including an apertured blade, a handle for said blade including a pair of corresponding members carrying the blade therebetween, each having a bulgingL gripping portion at one end, a guide flange extending laterally therefrom at' the other end, and a fiat portion intermediate the bulging gripping portion and the -knife, an adjusting screw extending through the aperture in said blade and through the corresponding elongated slots for adjusting movement of the blade longitudinally of the slots and said thin fiat portion, and a guide member for complementary action with one of said guide flanges having a fiat mounting portion at one end and an offset guide portion at the other end, said fiat mounting portion being slotted to receive said screw and said offset portion being of such a configuration and size that said guide member may be rotated at least on said screw at said nat portion in the knife and said offset portion will lay over the bulging portions cf one of the handle members in a position as not to interfere with normal gripping of the handle of the knife.

2. A knife for opening cartons and for miscelglaneous purposes including an apertured blade, a handle for said blade including a pair of corresponding members, each having a bulging gripping portion at one end and a fiat portion intermediate the bulging gripping portion and the other end thereof having an elongated slot therein, said members being secured togetherwith the flat portions of each correspondingly positioned and together forming a thin flat portion in said knife, an adjusting screw extending through the aperture in said blade and through the corresponding elongated slots for adjusting movement of the blade longitudinally of the slots and said thin flat portion, and a movable guide member having a slotted flat mounting portion at one end and an offset guide portion at the other end adapted to receive said screw and being adjustably mounted on the flat portion of one of said handle members for adjustable movement to provide a cutting guiding surface for said blade at said other end of the one handle member, said guide member and the offset portion thereof being of such a configuration and size that said member may be rotated on said screw at the thin flat portion from a guiding position through at least 180 and said offset portion will lay over the bulging portion of said one handle member in a position so as not to interfere with normal gripping of the handle in the knife.

AUGUST J. LURIE. 

